Monday, October 12, 2015

European MFME -- part 4 -- Neuschwanstein Castle

Once upon a time there was a very young King in Bavaria with a creative mind named King Ludwig the Second.

People thought he was crazy.

He ascended to the throne very unprepared (according to his own account) and didn't care one whit for public affairs or diplomacy.

He just loved the arts. Art, music and architecture were his passion.

So he used the royal funds to build.

And build and build and build.

He was inspired by all kinds of castles and commissioned a few of his own to be built.

The most famous of all is Neuschwanstein.

It is famous especially among little girls with stars in their eyes about princesses.

Because Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty's castle on this one.

It was nestled in the mountains of Bavaria.

Rumor has it that it put the whole area in extreme debt.

People were starving as Ludwig's extravagant castles were being built.

But today, it is the richest source of income for the whole area.

Because tourists come from near and far to witness it's exquisite beauty.

Perched high up on a mountain:

...Overlooking a gorgeous valley that holds the palace of Ludwig's boyhood home...the golden castle you can see below:

So all these years later nine women and a very cute little baby boy hiked up to see that place.

(All but one of them wearing puffy jackets...)

And they breathed in it's exquisite beauty from as many angles as they could get to.

The "bridge" where you should be able to view the whole thing was under construction, so a picture postcard shows the whole effect:

They stayed until the sun went down.

...shivering even in their puffies :)

They listened to a pretty fascinating audio tour all about that king way back when...he was banished and pronounced "insane" to get him to stop the "madness" of the building. Sadly, shortly after his "diagnosis" he died very mysteriously.

But that day all those "puffy" ladies sure enjoyed the opportunity to witness his masterwork up there on the mountain.

Be grateful the bridge was under construction! I feared for my life as I stood on that old, shaky thing with hundreds of other tourists, just trying to get the "perfect shot" (the castle had scaffolding all around it when we were there so I never got that "perfect shot").

When we were there it had scaffolding and a thick layer of fog. I hope you stopped in Hohenschwangau as well (the smaller castle) because it is well worth the stop! We loved our stop in Bavaria. It's a beautiful corner of the world!

I loved seeing this! My husband and I went there on our honeymoon in 2009 and stayed at the cutest bed and breakfast in the town just below the Neuschwanstein Castle and it was amazing. And your pictures capture it so well!